The Great Big Mystery of the Haunted Hotel
by pinkrosepictures
Summary: It's Halloween night and our favorite crime fighting duo is stuck at a...lets say rather creepy establishment -  Just some Caskett Halloween Fluff, 'cause what else does one need?
1. Chapter 1

_Let the Caskett Halloween fun begin... *insert creepy laughter here*_

"So you're a 100 percent sure that this is a hotel and not a theme park?" Richard Castle looked in astonishment at the building infront of him.

"Well that's what the guy at the gas station told me," Kate Beckett replied as she got out of her car, tightening the collar of her trench coat as the howling wind hit her.

"This place looks like a cooler, creepier version of the clue mansion, you know from the movie..."

"Yes Castle," Kate couldn't but smile about Rick's childlike amazement. "Come on lets see if someone got murdered with a candlestick."

"Best Halloween ever!" Castle said to himself before he followed Kate to the door. At first he had been miserable when Alexis had chosen to attend a Halloween dance at school instead of scaring the trick or treaters with him. But that meant that he could spend the day with Kate, which wasn't a bad alternative. He even managed to impress her by solving the case they had been working on for almost two weeks. The final clue, however, had lead them out of town, and after arresting their culprit and wrapping everything up, it had gotten too late to drive home. Of course he had been thrilled when Kate had suggested to get a room, well separate rooms, for the night, but his excitement had grown into the unmeasurable once they arrived at the hotel.

"How have I never heard of this place? It's so cool!"

"We're not even inside yet Castle," Kate replied reaching for the antique door knocker, but the door opened without her doing anything.

"Awesome..." Rick commented in amazement.

"There must be motion sensors."

"Stop rationalizing, it's Halloween, the night of ghosts and ghouls, not motion sensors."

"Well then lets hope that the ghosts and ghouls who run this place still have a spare room."

"You mean two," Rick corrected her.

"That goes without saying."

"Okay then... After you Detective."

"Thanks," Kate replied entering the hotel.

The lobby of the hotel did not disappoint, it looked just as cool as the outside – if not even cooler. The big room was decorated with a couple jack-o'-lanterns in between all kinds of antiques, statues, paintings and even a knight's armor.

"I bet most of this becomes alive at midnight," Rick whispered as he and Kate approached the front desk and admired some of the artefacts.

"Hello?" Kate looked around, judging by the number of cars they had seen outside there had to be at least a few people...

"This just went from cool to creepy," Rick commented.

"Yeah maybe we should find another place to..." Before Kate could finish the sentence an elderly Lady stepped into the room and greeted them.

"Welcome! I'm so sorry you had to wait, It's a busy night, and I didn't expect new guests at this hour ."

"No worries, we just walked in," Rick replied.

"Well, I'm Betty what can I do for you?" The woman asked with a friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you Betty, I'm Kate, this is Rick, we were on our way back to the city and are looking for a place to spend the night, but if it's an inconvenience for you ..." Kate explained, but Betty interrupted her.

"Nonsense dear, I have the perfect room for the two of you. It's absolutely wonderful."

"Actually..." Kate started but Rick cut her off.

"Thank you, that sounds great," he said. "This place is creepy, and there's no way I'm gonna leave your side," he whispered while Betty looked for the right room key.

"You scared Ricky?" Kate teased him.

"As William Shakespeare already said, the best safety lies in fear. There's a big difference between being scared and being cautious Detective," Castle defended himself, emphasizing the last word to make sure that Betty would hear it.

"You're a Detective dear? How exciting," Betty commented.

"Yes she is, and she carries a gun," Rick replied.

"Boys and toys," Kate laughed, trying to weaken the threatening implication of Rick's reply.

"No need to say more. Let me just get Norman and I'll show you to your room."

"Thank you," Kate said.

"If Norman is her son, I'm outta here..." Rick said as soon as Betty left the room.

"What has gotten into you?" Kate asked smacking his arm. "Five minutes ago, you couldn't wait to spend the night here," she hissed.

"That was when I thought this was 'Clue' not 'Psycho'! This place is not Halloween creepy, it's just creepy creepy. She said it's a busy night, but where is everyone? And who..."

"Norman darling, where are you we have new guests?" They heard Betty's voice.

"Norman, Kate. Norman!"

"I'm sure there's an explanation for everything," Kate replied, as Rick's eyes suddenly grew wide.

"Watch out!"

xxxxxxxxxx

_How much do you hate me for ending it here? LOL_

_….But do not worry I will update this super soon! ….and just so you know, nice reviews are an awesome motivator...pumpkin spice lattes work too, but there are logistic problems with getting them to me, so reviews will have to do for now :)_

_Peace, Love, and Sunshine_

_Laura_


	2. Chapter 2

"What?" Kate quickly turned around to see what had startled Rick.

"Really Castle?" Kate couldn't help but laugh about Rick's reaction, before she kneeled down, to greet the monster that had tried to attack her.

"Look at the little costume! That's so cute!"

"It's very well made, very realistic," Rick defended himself as he watched Kate pet the little dog. The small french bulldog was wearing little wings and a hat with ears, making it look like a strange mix between dog and bat.

"Oh I see Norman found you already," Betty said as she stepped back into the room. "I hope he didn't scare you, I wanted to dress him like a little pumpkin, but he insisted on the bat costume."

"He looks adorable," Kate replied.

"Who names a cute little dog Norman?" Rick mumbled, still convinced that something wasn't right.

"So do you run this place all by yourself?" Rick asked as Betty showed them to their room, with Norman leading the way of course.

"My husband and I opened it a long time ago, but ever since he passed away it's only been me, Norman and Andrew."

"Andrew?" Rick gave her a questioning look.

"My nephew, he takes care of the building and helps me out around the house." Betty explained before she stopped.

"There we are, room 13," she said opening the door. "I hope you like it, It's my best room. You´re very lucky that it is still empty," with that she stepped inside and set Norman down on the bed.

"Yeah because this place is so crowded..." Rick mumbled following Betty and Kate into the room.

"It's perfect, Thank you." Kate said, ignoring Rick's comment.

"Do you want me to set up a fire?" Betty asked.

"Oh, that won't be necessary Betty, I can do it myself," Rick replied.

"Great, and if you need anything else just call for me. Come on Norman, lets give these nice people some privacy," at Betty's command Norman jumped off of the bed and followed her out of the room.

A few minutes later they had gotten a little more comfortable in their room, while Rick had started a fire, Kate had spend her time looking at some of the photographs above the fireplace.

"Look at this Castle, this must be Betty with her husband."

"There are more pictures of them in the hall, you would have seen them if you hadn't been so busy admiring that little monster. Besides a picture doesn't prove anything."

"Well good, because I wasn't trying to prove anything I just wanted to say that they look like a really nice..." Kate started but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"They're coming to get us!" Rick cried out.

"Come in," Kate replied, rolling her eyes in annoyance, still wondering what had gotten into Rick.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but you two looked like you could use some of my hot chocolate," Betty said as she entered the room carrying two large cups.

"Thank you Betty, that's very thoughtful," Kate replied as Betty handed her one cup and gave the other one to Rick.

"Thanks, it smells great, what's in there?" He asked.

"That's my special secret," Betty replied with a wink. "But I'm gonna leave you alone now, have a good night."

"Thanks Betty you too," Kate replied.

"So you do you think this will kill us, or just knock us out so they can kill us later," Rick asked as soon as they were alone again.

"And who exactly are they supposed to be?"

"An army of dog bat mutants?"

"Can I ask you something while you work on this theory?"

"Go ahead."

"You live for stuff like this, as far as I know Halloween is your favorite holiday. So shouldn't you be enjoying this?"

"If this had been my idea and I was pulling the strings, I'd be thrilled. But we got send here by some guy at a gas station, the owner of this place appears to be right out of a ghost story, and most importantly there were about five or six other cars outside, but did you see or hear anyone ever since we entered this place?" Rick waited for a reply but Kate remained silent. "No? I didn't think so."

"Maybe they are already asleep," Kate suggested.

"On Halloween at..." he checked his watch. "10.30? Yeah right..."

"I admit that it is a little strange, but as I already told you I'm sure that there is a perfectly fine explanation, and it doesn't involve ghosts."

"Like what?" Rick gave her a challenging look.

"Like..." Kate tried to think of something, but had to admit that it wasn't as easy as she had thought "I don't know, but I do know that this is not a horror movie, that there are no ghosts here and that Betty is not gonna kill you in your sleep, although I might if you don't move on."

"Just wait and see, they'll always get the skeptics first."

"Well at least then you won't have to sleep on the floor, Mr. I'm too scared to get my own room," Kate said taking a sip from the hot chocolate.

"We'll see about that," Rick replied, cautiously smelling on the beverage in his hand.

…...

_Woo! No mean cliffhanger this time, well no big one at least ...what could that secret ingredient be? ;)_

_There's gonna be more Halloween fun, and a little romance in the next chapter._

_Reviews make my day! _

_Peace, Love and Sunshine Laura _


	3. Chapter 3

Since the only effect that Betty's hot chocolate seemed to have on Kate was warming her up, Rick finally gave in and tried it himself.

"Looks like your sweet tooth trumped your fear," Kate joked as he took his first sip.

"You know you could have told me that the secret ingredient is scotch," Castle commented as soon as he tasted the alcohol in the beverage.

"And ruin the surprise, no way!"

"A lot of scotch..." he noted.

"Let's look at it as a Halloween treat," Kate replied, before she sat down in the middle of the bed. "And talking of, when do I get a taste of that famous Castle Halloween spirit?"

"Spending the night in a haunted hotel isn't enough?"

"If this place was actually haunted, then maybe, but since it's not..."

"You know what, if you are right and nothing happens tonight I will never bother you with my crazy theories again, but if I am right then..." he paused to think of an appropriate wager. "Well, how about you buy me dinner? Given that we survive this night of course..."

"Deal," Kate said without hesitation, she knew that she would win this.

"Great, so what did you say about my Halloween spirit? Maybe something about me telling you one of my great ghost stories?" With that he dimmed the light and sat down in the armchair, that was standing across from the bed...

Kate enjoyed Rick's story a lot more than she wanted to admit. Of course the spooky atmosphere of the old building, the howling of wind that they could hear trough the thin windows, and of course Betty's spiked hot chocolate, all played their part in making it even better, but even the best story had to end at some point.

"...and that, Detective, is why she's doomed to spend every Halloween, on that rooftop, waiting to take revenge on the love of her life. The end."

"Wow Castle, that was great,"

"Detective Beckett! You're making me blush, hearing those words from you..in bed!"

"In your dreams," Kate responded to Rick's joke by throwing a pillow at him.

"You missed!" He exclaimed happily before a second one followed and hit him right in the face.

"Ow! Not fair!"

"Since when are you one to play fair?" Kate countered with a smile.

"You asked for it," with that he threw the pillow back at her and within seconds they were engaged into a huge pillow fight, that didn't end until they both collapsed on the bed.

"I surrender!" Rick said, trying to catch his breath.

"You never stood a chance!" Kate laughed.

"And, you are delusional if you think I'm gonna let you win a pillow fight," before Kate knew what was happening Rick was straddling her and had pinned her down to the bed.

"I win," he said leaning in until their faces were only inches apart. His earlier paranoia suddenly seemed forgotten, but at the same time Kate had developed a whole different kind of fear...

"I...I need some air," with that she pushed Rick away causing him to fell off the bed.

"Kate!" He tried to stop her, but once he got up again she was already out of the door. "What about the ghosts?" He yelled after her, puzzled about her reaction.

"What the hell am I doing..." Kate whispered to herself as soon as she was alone again. She should have insisted on him getting his own room, and starting a pillow fight? Maybe the scotch really hadn't been the only secret ingredient of that...

"Kate what are you doing out here all by yourself dear?" Betty, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, interrupted her train of thought.

"Did you need anything? I told you to call for me," she continued.

"No. No worries, I just wanted to get some air," Kate explained, wondering why she hadn't noticed the older woman sooner.

"Why don't you come with me, I have just what you need."

"Okay..." Kate replied rather hesitant, but she figured that going with Betty was safer than being alone with Rick.

_XXXXXXX_

_So who will win the bet? And what is Betty up to? And most importantly: will Kate change her mind about being alone with Castle? ...No worries the next chapter will be up soon._

_And THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the amazing reviews ! I can't wait to get a few more for this one ;)_

_Peace, Love and Shivers...uhm Sunshine Laura _


	4. Chapter 4

A few minutes later Kate and Betty were sitting on the back porch of the old building, which was decorated just as festive as the lobby. Along with a bottle of that scotch, Kate was already familiar with, Betty had brought out an old photo album with her.

"Rick and I already admired those earlier," Kate said looking at a picture that showed a young Betty with her husband infront of the hotel.

"That's me and my Edgar, I think it was taken on the weekend we opened this hotel."

"You look very happy," Kate commented.

"We were, oh look at this one," Betty showed Kate a picture of Edgar, holding a beautiful Jack-o'-lantern in one hand and a small puppy in the other.

"Is that Norman with him?" Kate asked with a smile.

"Yes we found him that Halloween. It was Edgar's favorite Holiday, and he always said Norman protects the house from all the evil ghosts and ghouls that come out at night. But enough with the pictures, why are you sitting out here with me, when there's a handsome young man in your room."

"Well..." Kate blushed a little, she certainly hadn't expected that question. "It's complicated," she explained.

"It always is, which is why we have this," with that Betty wanted to pour Kate another drink, but Kate stopped her.

"No thank you, I'm trying to stay out of trouble tonight."

"Nonsense, It's Halloween, you have to get into a little bit of trouble tonight. "

"I wish it was that easy, but Rick and I, we're..." Kate hesitated. What exactly where they? "We're friends, it just wouldn't work, it couldn't..."

"That's what I always told myself when I first met my Edgar. You know he had to ask me 31 times before I finally agreed to go out with him."

"Wow, he must have been really crazy about you to stick around that long."

"You have no idea dear," Betty said with a laugh. "But..." she continued in a more serious tone. "If I could do it all over again I would say yes the first time. Don't waste time overthinking matters of the heart, every once in a while it's alright to just do what you want to do."

"I'll keep that I mind," Kate replied with a smile.

"And trust me, the way that boy looks at you, he wants..." Betty started but she was interrupted by a scream that was followed by loud barking.

"Shut up you little..." Rick hissed as he stumbled onto the porch - followed by a growling Norman. He had gathered all his courage to save Kate, but just when he had been about to step on the porch he had heard his name and had figured that she wasn't in immediate danger, and that it wouldn't hurt to find out why she was talking about him. Norman, however, didn't appreciate him spying on the two woman.

"Castle?" Kate couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him almost falling over the pumpkins as he tried to escape the little dog.

"Norman, what has gotten into you!" At the sound of Betty's voice Norman immediately stopped.

"It was my fault, I must have scared him," Rick explained giving Norman a disapproving look, that resulted in another growl.

"Down boy!" Rick took another step back and bumped into a wobbly table, causing the the Jack-o'-lantern on it to fall, but he was quick enough to catch it before it crashed onto the ground.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized.

"Don't worry nothing happened," with that Betty picked up the small dog to prevent further accidents.

"Did you make all of these?" Rick asked, admiring the Jack-o'- lantern as he put it back onto the table.

"I had a little help," Betty explained with a smile. "But I think the two of you have some things to talk about, so I'm gonna give you some privacy..."

"No, there's really no need..." Kate tried to stop her from leaving, but Betty had already made up her mind.

"Don't overthink it," she said, giving Kate a stern look. "I'll be inside if you need me."

"What are you doing out here? I thought you were too afraid to leave the room," Kate asked as soon as they were alone again.

"You left your coat when you stormed out, I thought you might need it," he held up the garment for her to see. "And I didn't want you to get eaten by a werewolf...or psychopathic bulldog..."

"Thanks for the coat," she hadn't even noticed how cold she was until he had mentioned her coat.

"Anytime," Rick replied, putting the coat around Kate's shoulders before he sat down next to her.

"You know she's not a ghost, right?" Kate said, trying to distract Rick from the actual issue.

"Yeah, still not convinced. And you can't deny that there are strange things going on tonight, especially in our room."

That was working out well. Kate sighed. "I'm so sorry Castle. This hotel, the drinks, I shouldn't have..."

"Why the hell not?" Rick interrupted her.

"Castle you know why," Kate replied, looking at the ground to avoid eye contact.

"I couldn't help but overhear some parts of your conversation with Betty," Rick continued in a much softer tone.

"You mean you were eavesdropping." Kate corrected him.

"Yes, yes I was but the point is," he hesitated a moment as he tried to come up with the courage to say what he wanted to say. "I'd ask 32 times."

Kate laughed "You're serious?"

"Don't act like you don't know that I am," he said, giving her a gentle nudge to show her that he wasn't mad at her.

"So shall we give this haunted house another chance, go back to our room, see what happens?"

"Still afraid that the ghosts are gonna get you?" Kate teased him.

"Better safe than sorry," he stood up and offered her his hand.

"Thanks," as her fingers intertwined with his , he fastened his grip and pulled her up to him, leaving them only inches apart.

"Sorry, I didn't..." He apologized.

"Just blame it on the ghosts," Kate wasn't sure what it was. Betty's advice, Castle's confession, or even the drinks. But she was done wasting time. She brought her free hand up to his collar and clutched the material, before she leaned in...

Rick could already feel his breath on her lips when...

"Castle look! " She gasped, abruptly breaking the contact.

"What´s wrong?" Rick turned around. Whatever it was zombie, vampire or werewolf, it would pay for interrupting their moment. But as he saw what had spooked Kate, he knew that his chances of a romantic night had just gotten very slim.

_XOXOXOXO_

_First of all: THANKS FOR THE NICE REVIEWS :) They always make my day! _

_And I hope I get more even though I ended it here lol._

_...But the next chapter will be up very soon, I gotta finish this in time for Halloween after all ;) _

_Peace, Love and Sunshine Laura_


	5. Chapter 5

"Please tell me that I'm hallucinating," Rick said. From this distance they couldn't tell for sure, but what they saw hanging in the tree behind to the groundskeeper's shack looked a lot like a dead body.

"Unless we're both are hallucinating, this is real..." Kate replied, trying to pull herself together. It wasn't the dead body that was freaking her out , she was used to that, but this night was already eventful enough, a killer on the loose was the last thing she needed.

"There's a dead guy hanging in a tree!" Rick walked around nervously, a few seconds ago he had been inches away from kissing Kate – and now there was a dead guy in a tree. How the hell had that happened?

"We need to get away from this place, do you have your keys?" He asked.

"We can't just leave Castle! Besides, don't you wanna know if you won our little bet? This is your chance to get proof. Come on..." Before Rick could do anything about it Kate was heading down the porch steps and on her way to the shack.

"You're supposed to run away when the bodies start dropping, horror movie survival rule number one!" Rick hissed, following her reluctantly.

"What's rule number two?" Kate asked as Rick caught up with her.

"Something about cops never making it, but since you're also the lead character's love interest your chances aren't bad...if you follow the other rules that is," Rick explained, but when they reached the shack Kate stopped him.

"Stay!" She put her hand on his chest for emphasis. "You're gonna wait here, got it?

"Splitting up, that's a great idea," Rick rolled his eyes.

Kate didn't even dignify that comment with a response and just disappeared behind the shack. Of course it took only a few seconds before Rick decided to approach the crime scene from the other side. But as he peaked around the corner of the little building, he couldn't see Kate or the body.

"Kate?" He whispered, not sure what to do, when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Boo!" Rick turned around and let out a high pitched scream, before he realized that it was only Kate, holding up the corpse, which had turned out to be an old janitor's suit .

"I don't think there's anything we can do for him," Kate joked, handing Rick the garment.

"You saw it first," Rick felt the need to defend himself.

"It had us both fooled," Kate replied.

"And it ruined our moment..." Rick mumbled.

"Hey! Who are you, and what are doing with my costume?" They were interrupted by a dark figure.

"Sorry, we thought it was a dead guy..." Rick tried to make out who they were dealing with, but the other man blinded them with his flashlight.

"What?" The man lowered his flashlight, making it possible for Rick and Kate to see him. He was in his mid twenties, dressed in jeans a plaid shirt, and didn't seem to be armed, or dangerous in another way.

"We're staying at the hotel, and well, when we saw this we thought it was something else. I guess all the Halloween stuff is getting to us," Kate explained, slightly embarrassed about their mistake.

"I'm not surprised. My aunt likes to go all out for the holiday, even made me take out the guests on a haunted hayride, hence the costume. I just wanted to put it away when the wind blew it into that tree."

"So that's where everyone was..." Rick said to himself as he put two and two together.

"You're Andrew?" Kate asked.

"Guilty, but we might want to continue this inside. This storm is about to get ugly," Andrew replied, before he looked up to the sky.

"A big scary storm, just what we needed to complete the cliché..." Rick commented.

"What is he talking about?" Andrew gave Kate a puzzled look.

"Just ignore him. I do it all the time," Kate replied, hoping that this was the last Halloween treat for the night.

They got back to the main building just in time before the thunder and rain started.

"I see you met my nephew," Betty greeted them. "And Andrew, thank you for taking my other guests out on the hayride, they loved it. We need to do this again next year," she continued.

"It was my pleasure aunt Betty. But I'm gonna excuse myself now, I need a hot shower to wash of all those creepy crawlers. See you in the morning, if you survive..." Andrew said winking at Rick.

"That's not funny dude!" Rick complained, but Andrew was already halfway up the stairs.

"Well, I think we should also go to bed, it's pretty late." Saying that Kate was anxious about getting back into the room was the understatement of the century. And she could tell that Rick was feeling the same. She had rolled the dice, and the dead guy incident had given her an out – but now she had to decide what to do with that.

"Of course, have a good night. And Kate, I'm glad to see you were listening to my advice," Betty said, before she left them alone again.

"Listen to the woman," Rick joked as he noticed that Kate was blushing a little. The walk back to the room, however, was rather quiet.

"Looks like you were right all along, they didn't eat the other guests, just drove them around in the cold. Although I'm still convinced that that dog is up to something..." He said as soon as they were back in their room.

"Yeah maybe," Kate agreed.

"So, where were we? I mean before the whole dead guy, who turned out to be piece of clothing ordeal."

"Maybe it was a sign..."

"Well good thing you don't believe in supernatural things," Rick replied, this time he was the one rolling his eyes.

"Castle I..." Before Kate could finish the sentence, the window behind her was pushed open by the wind, which caused her to stumble forward – directly into Rick's arms.

"Talking of signs..." He couldn't help but laugh.

"That almost felt like something pushed me."

"You're not blaming it on the ghosts, are you?" Rick, asked raising an eyebrow.

"No," Kate hesitated for a moment, before she made up her mind. "This is all me," with that she finally closed the distance between them, and as soon as he responded to her kiss even her last bit of doubt was gone. From here on nothing, no ghost, mutant bat dogs or dead guys in trees, could ruin their night.

xxxxxxxxxx

_Don't you worry this isn't over yet...there's an epilogue coming, and it's coming very soon! Because we still don't know who won that bet, and of course what happens after that kiss... _

_Happy Halloween! _

_Reviews are my favorite treats ;)_

_Peace, love and shivers...uhm I mean sunshine_

_Laura_


	6. Chapter 6

"Last night was.."

"Amazing?" Kate interrupted him

"I was gonna say haunting, but that works too. And talking of amazing, where are we going to have dinner tonight? Or do you want to surprise me? If yes, I want you to know that I'm not opposed to eating in bed."

"No way! I won that bet and you know it!"

"So you're really saying that nothing happened last night?"

"Well..." Kate tried to think of a response, but she secretly had to agree. "Let's just say that we both won."

"I certainly won't argue with that," with that he spun around and blocked her way. "I'm still gonna get dinner though, right?"

"Maybe even breakfast," Kate replied and their lips met for a quick kiss in the middle of the stairwell, but as soon as that kiss became a little more intimate Betty stepped into the lobby.

"What a beautiful sight!" At the sound of her voice the two lovers immediately broke apart.

"We're sorry," Kate apologized.

"Oh don't you stop on my account. Did you two have a good night?"

"Very," Rick replied with a smug smile that earned him a threatening look from Kate

Betty laughed "Oh you two are adorable. Will you stay for Breakfast? I just set it up."

"We'd love to, but we really have to get back to the..." Kate replied.

"Nonsense, of course we're gonna stay," Rick interrupted her.

"Lovely, come on..." Betty said, leading them to the breakfast room.

"I'm not gonna leave before making sure that those other guests actually exist, okay?" Castle whispered as they followed Betty.

"You're unbelievable," Kate rolled her eyes, but instead of the usual annoyance it was amusement that caused her reaction.

"And irresistible just like those pumpkin pancakes I'm smelling..."

After breakfast, and promising Betty – and Norman – that they would be back, Rick and Kate finally left. As they stepped outside they saw an elderly man working on the rosebushes that grew around the gates.

"What's wrong?" Rick asked as he noticed how Kate was staring at the gardener.

"Does he look familiar to you?" Kate wasn't sure, well she knew that it couldn't be but the man who was trimming the rosebushes looked a lot like Betty's late husband.

"Detective Beckett, you're not saying that..."

"Forget it," She shook her head, dismissing the thought.

"Whatever you say," Rick replied with a knowing smile.

When Kate looked back another time the older man stopped what he was doing and tipped his hat off to her before he continued his work.

"No," she and Rick said in unison, both shaking their heads and laughing about the idea. Rick put his arm around her as they walked back to their car. Haunted or not, they both knew that they had found a very special place – a place they would definitely return to.

_xoxox_

_So that's it! I hope you enjoyed this little tale. Thank you all for the amazing reviews! (I hope to get a few more on this little epilogue) ...and as for what really happened in the night..well it was amazing and you'll have to use your imagination ;)_

_And isn't it great that it's almost time to start Christmas fics? Raise your hand if you're excited! _

_Peace, Love and Sunshine_

_Laura_


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